My dilemma: standard repertoire versus neglected unsung repertoire

[ignaceii]

Hello everybody,
As this is my first post, and not a native english speaker, I will try my best to contribute to this forum for the sake of the neglected masters.
I first got into contact with unsung masters through the member group unsungmasterworks on youtube.
Personally I listen to classical music for over 30 years, and play the piano.
But my cd discography really starts to crop up copies and copies of the same masterpieces in the genre. Beethoven pianosonatacycles, symphonies, ...
I joined this group and on Youtube because of the limitation and sheer stupidity behind performers and labels by only playing over and over again the same pieces. Even Burlesque by R Strauss is standard repertoire.
When I read about Henselt, Dussek,... in piano international I said, My God what have we been missing for 100 years.
Yes, Gilels recorded the Henselt piano concerto, and it can stand next to Liszts. But nobody performs it...

Utterly neglect, underrating audiences, not daring to take a risk.
Anyway, luckily CPO, naxos release a good number of these lost masterworks.

So my dilemma. Will I start focussing only on the lost composers and leave good old Beethoven, Brahms,.... except Schubert as he is unclassifiable for me, in the closet, or will I combine both.
As a pianist, I like clementi, Dussek, but of course cannot without the mainstream works.

It will be an exciting journey anyway. Even in the baroque lots of composers are still yet to be discovered and played.

[Alan Howe]

A warm welcome, ignaceii!
My answer: listen to both! You don't have to choose!

[JimL]

I was unaware that Gilels ever recorded the Henselt!

[ignaceii]

Can be he played the Henselt, without recording, but anyway found a trace of it on the internet, so I presume there must have existed an early recording.

[eschiss1]

I see a live recording of Gilels playing a Henselt solo etude is on CD, but haven't yet found even a live recording of the concerto- still, will keep looking. Interesting...

[TerraEpon]

A warm welcome, ignaceii!
My answer: listen to both! You don't have to choose!

Indeed, I wouldn't want to be without, say, what I'm listening to now (Liszt piano concerto #1) just as much as I wouldn't want to be without, say, Scherwenka and Moskowski. No need to limit the standard rep just because everyone else overplays it.

[FBerwald]

ignaceii, I would also like to welcome you. This wonderful forum has introduced me to so many unsung greats. Please include Raff in your list as well. As a pianist you will find his music beautiful. Looking forward to discussing / sparring with you!

[ignaceii]

Thanks Fberwald for your nice comment as everyone else.
Indeed for a pianist having a 3000 pages encyclopedia of pianopieces at his disposal it is hard to choose.
I wellcome cpe Bachs birthday in the Gramophone edition of this month. Overshadowed by Haydn, his keyboard works are sheer delights, and for me more interesting than Haydns. Of course Haydn is great but CPE goes further.
I will try to find out where I found the Henselt Gilels connection.
So sad, all the concert pianists cannot be reached, only by their management offices. It is business as usual.
I don't know if it's possible to communicate with 1 member in particular ?

I think I will enjoy this forum, compared to pianostreet.

[Ken P]

A belated hello Ignaceii,

I fully understand your dilemma...and pain.  As a former concert pianist, now part of a piano trio, I confronted myself with that exact same question.  After exploring literally hundreds of forgotten piano trios by a vast array of composers from numerous countries I discovered a shock...The forgotten masterpieces that are languishing and begging to be performed is mind numbing and countless more are rotting in manuscript form in numerous libraries.  The trio I perform with plays no...repeat NO standard compositions.  Don't misunderstand....while the Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, Brahms etcetera are wonderful compositions...if I've heard 30 times by numerous professional trios I don't need to hear them again.  The same holds true for solo piano music and piano concerti (I dare say the same can apply to all instruments).  Keep digging, you will soon be rewarded by finding a plethora of gems that are begging to be played and performed.

P.S.  Your English is excellent...